קהלת קרנוא
The Jewish Community of Cornwall Rededication Service for the former Falmouth Synagogue’s Sefer Torah in association with The Royal Cornwall Museum on 28th May 2014
Service Conducted by The Rev Elkan D Levy, past President of the United Synagogue and past Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate Council and Mr David Jacobs, Director Synagogue Partnership Movement for Reform Judaism.
SERVICE FOR REDEDICATION OF TORAH
LEADER
BARUCH HABA (Psalm 118, vv26 and 29)
בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא, בְּשֵׁם ה’; בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם מִבֵּית ה’.
הוֹדוּ לַה’ כִּי-טוֹב: כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
Baruch haba, b’ShemAdonai beyrachnuchem m’beit Adonai.
Hodoo l’Adonai ki-tov: ki- l’olam chas-doh
Blessed is one who comes in the name of the Lord; weblessyou from the house of the Lord.
Thank the Lord for He is good, His loving-kindness is for ever.
LEADER FOLLOWED BY CONGREGATION
שְׁמַע יִשְֹרָאֵל ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה’ אֶחָד:
אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ גָדוֹל אֲדוֹנֵנוּ קָדוֹשׁ שְׁמו
Sh’ma yisra’el. Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad.
Echad eloheinu, gadol Adoneinu, kadosh sh’mo.
LEADER
גַּדְּלוּ לה’ אִתִּי וּנְרוֹמְמָה שְׁמוֹ יַחְדָּו
Gaddlu l’Adonai itti-, un’rom’mah sh’mo yachdav
LEADER AND CONGREGATION
לְךָ ה’ הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד כִּי כֹל בַּשָּׁמַיִםוּבָאָרֶץ : לְךָ ה’ הַמַּמְלָכָה וְהַמִּתְנַשֵֹּא לְכֹל לְרֹאשׁ: רוֹמְמוּ ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַהֲדֹם רַגְלָיו קָדושׁ הוּא: רוֹמְמוּ ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְהַר קָדְשׁוֹ כִּי קָדושׁ ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ:
L’cha Adonai ha-g’dullah v’ha-g’vurah v’ha-tif’eret v’ha-neitsach v’ha-hod ki chol
ba-shamayim uva’ arets: L’cha Adonai ha-mamlachah v’ha-mitnassei l’chol l’rosh.
Rom’mu Adonai eloheinu, v’hishtachavu lahadom raglav, kadosh hu:
Rom’mu Adonai eloheinu, v’hishtachavu l’har kodsho ki kadosh Adonai eloheinu.
Listen, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
One is our God; great is our Master; holy is His name.
Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Yours, Lord, are the greatness and the power, the glory, majesty and splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Exalt the Lord our God and bow to His footstool; He is holy. Exalt the Lord our God, and bow at His holy mountain, for holy is the Lord our God.
First reading; from the Babylonian Talmud
Books may not be thrown about from one place to another nor may they be treated disrespectfully.
A man is required to have a scroll of Torah written with good ink, using a good quill, by competent scribes, on good sheets of parchment made out of hides.
He is then to wrap it in beautiful silks, in keeping with the saying in Exodus Chapter 15 “This is my God, and I will glorify him”.
Second reading; Psalm 19 vv8-10, 15
The Torah of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul;
The Decrees of the Lord are enduring, making the simple wise
The Precepts of the Lord are just, gladdening the heart;
The Instruction of the Lord is lucid making the eyes light up.
The Fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever;
The Judgments of the Lord are true, righteous altogether
More precious than gold, even the finest gold
They are sweeter than honey as it drips from the honeycomb.
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
Third reading; Isaiah Ch 2 ,3-4
And the many peoples shall go and say:
Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord
To the house of the God of Jacob
That He may instruct us in His ways
And that we may walk in His paths,
For Torah shall come forth from Zion,
The word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Thus He will judge among the nations
And arbitrate for the many peoples.
And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares
And their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not take up sword against nation,
They shall never again know war.
Fourth reading; On the significance of the Bible
It is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to account for the lofty teachings of the Hebrew prophets, the civilising influence of the great Law of Moses, the history of a small people who found God and brought Him to mankind, the Sinaitic revelation itself and the spiritual power these books continue to exercise over men’s souls, unless Israel really met with God and recorded in immortal language the meaning of that encounter. We can be sceptical of individual details in the Bible. We can dwell on the numerous parallels with Egyptian, Babylonian and Assyrian mores.
What cannot be seriously doubted is the ‘something else’ which has ensured that this and no other collection of books has become the Sacred Scripture of a large proportion of humanity; that there are living Jews who regard themselves as the heirs to the Bible but no living Babylonians, Canaanites or Assyrians; that there is a Voice which speaks here in promise of great vision, of dreams of world peace, of holiness, justice and mercy, of freedom and the unique worth of each individual as a child of God.
LEADER AND CONGREGATION
VEZOT HATORAH
וְזֹאת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר שָֹם משֶׁה לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשרָאֵל: עַל פִּי ה’ בְּיַד משֶׁה:
V’zot ha-torah asher sam mosheh lifnei B’nei Yisrae’el: al pi Adonai b’yad Moshe:
This is the Torah that Moses placed before the children of Israel, at the Lord’s commandment, by the hand of Moses.
Prayer for Queen
Prayer for Israel
Prayer for the Community
LEADER AND CONGREGATION
ETZ CHAYIM HI
עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ. וְתמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר:
דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נעַם וְכָל נְתִיבותֶיהָ שָׁלום:
הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ ה’ אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה. חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם:
Eits chayyim hi la-machazikim bah, V’tom’cheha m’ushar :
D’racheha darchei no’am, v’chol n’tivoteha shalom :
Hashiveinu Adonai eilecha v’nashuvah, chaddeish yameinu k’kedem.
It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and those who uphold it are happy. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Turn us back, O Lord, to You, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.
Sermon by The Rev Elkan D Levy
Speech by Mr Harvey Kurzfield
Reply by Councillor Loic Rich, The Right Worshipful, Mayor of Truro
Presentations by Leslie Lipert to
- Ms Hilary Bracegirdle
- Ms Angela Broome
- Rev Elkan Levy
- Mr David Jacobs
- Mr Bernard Benarroch
Reply by Ms Hilary Bracegirdle
LEADER AND CONGREGATION
ADON OLAM
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ. בְּטֶרֶם כָּל יְצִיר נִבְרָא:
לְעֵת נַעֲשָֹה בְחֶפְצוֹ כֹּל. אֲזַי מֶלֶךְ שְׁמוֹ נִקְרָא:
וְאַחֲרֵי כִּכְלוֹת הַכֹּל. לְבַדּוֹ יִמְלֹךְ נוֹרָא:
וְהוּא הָיָה וְהוּא הֹוֶה. וְהוּא יִהְיֶה בְּתִפְאָרָה:
וְהוּא אֶחָד וְאֵין שֵׁנִי. לְהַמְשִׁיל לוֹ לְהַחְבִּירָה:
בְּלִי רֵאשִׁית בְּלִי תַכְלִית. וְלוֹ הָעֹז וְהַמִּשְֹרָה:
וְהוּא אֵלִי וְחַי גוֹאֲלִי. וְצוּר חֶבְלִי בְּיוֹם צָרָה:
וְהוּא נִסִּי וּמָנוֹס לִי. מְנָת כּוֹסִי בְּיוֹם אֶקְרָא:
בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי. בְּעֵת אִישָׁן וְאָעִירָה:
וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי. ה’ לִי וְלֹא אִירָא:
Adon olam asher malach, b’terem kol y’tsir nivra.
L’eit na’asah b’cheftso kol, azai melech sh’mo nikra.
V’acharei kichlot ha-kol, l’vaddo yimloch nora.
V’hu hayah v’hu hoveh, v’hu yihyeh b’tif’arah.
V’hu echad v’ein sheini, l’hamshil lo l’hachbirah.
B’li reishit b’li tachlit, v’lo ha-oz v’ha-misrah.
V’hu eyli v’chai go’ali, v’tsur chevli b’yom tsarah.
V’hu nissi umanos li, m’nat kosi b’yom ekra.
B’yado afkid ruchi, b’eit ishan v’a’irah.
V’im ruchi g’vi’ati, Adonai li v’lo ira.
Lord of the universe, who reigned
Before the birth of any thing –
When by His will all things were made
Then was His name proclaimed King.
And when all things shall cease to be
He alone will reign in awe.
He was, He is, and He shall be
Glorious for evermore.
He is One, there is none else,
Alone, unique, beyond compare;
Without beginning, without end,
His might, His rule are everywhere.
He is my God; my Redeemer lives.
He is the Rock on whom I rely –
My banner and my safe retreat,
My cup, my portion when I cry.
Into His hand my soul I place,
When I awake and when I sleep.
God is with me, I shall not fear;
Body and soul from harm will He keep.
Kehillat Kernow The Jewish Community of Cornwall
The Jewish Community in Cornwall was re-established in 1999. It continues the tradition of a faith community which began over 250 years ago when the Falmouth and Penzance communities, among others, came into being. Following the closure of Falmouth Synagogue in 1880 and Penzance Synagogue in 1906 there was a gap of almost 100 years before organised Jewish worship recommenced in Cornwall.
The present community grew from a handful of Jews living in Cornwall who began holding services 15 years ago; they called themselves Kehillat (Hebrew for “Congregation of”) Kernow. There are now over 100 members, formal services are held on a regular basis, a constitution has been ratified, Charity Commission registration obtained, and the community is associated with the Movement for Reform Judaism. Congregational life has resumed, holidays are celebrated, life cycle events observed, children and adults are educated, and synagogue activities of a charitable, cultural and educational nature occur on a regular basis.
From an informal meeting of several Jewish people who wanted to come together to share their common ground, Kehillat Kernow has become a recognised faith community not only in Cornwall, but also throughout Great Britain.
Like many small Jewish communities, members come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from Orthodox to Reform to Liberal Judaic traditions. This offers an eclectic and stimulating atmosphere for we complement each other. Our philosophy of inclusiveness means that “difference does not diminish; it enlarges the sphere of human possibilities,” to adopt the words of past Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his book, ‘The Dignity of Difference.’
This includes participation in the Board of Deputies and the Cornwall Interfaith Forum as well as interaction with the larger communities within Cornwall. Through our association with the Movement for Reform Judaism and support from the Chief Rabbi’s Office for Small Communities, most particularly through the dedicated services of D.